Wednesday, April 20, 2011

United Farm Workers Fight Dwindling Membership

The United Farm Workers of America drew national attention when workers led by Cesar Chavez inspired a boycott of table grapes in the 1960s and then forced vineyard owners to sign hundreds of contracts providing better pay and working conditions.

But experts say employer intimidation, high worker turnover and demographic changes have resulted in union membership plummeting in recent decades, despite the problems workers reeled off at the meeting: low or stagnant wages; employers who don't provide shade from the scorching sun; and foremen who rob workers of their pay or prevent them from taking water and bathroom breaks.



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Posted by Jessica Damian

Parent and Teacher Involvement in Educational Success of Minorities

According to Ester Cepeda 35% of parents of Latino students are absent from school activities. In this article she debates whether teachers can supplement the attention missing at home and avoid blaming parents for lack of involvement in school.
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Posted by Jessica Damian

Hispanic Republican Group Challenges GOP

In these times, it's not easy being a Hispanic Republican.

Take it from DeeDee Garcia Blase of Scottsdale, Ariz. The 39-year-old Mexican-American political activist and Air Force veteran is a force of nature. She is the founder of Somos Republicans, a grass-roots Hispanic Republican organization that acts as a guerrilla insurgency against the GOP establishment. After just two years, the group claims 6,000 members in a dozen states.



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Posted by Jessica Damian

New bill targets employers who hire illegal immigrants

One of the Texas House's most prolific writers of anti-illegal immigration legislation filed her fifth related bill Wednesday. This one targets employers who hire undocumented workers.

State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball , said her bill would make it a state jail felony "to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly hire a person who is not lawfully permitted to be in America."

"Employers who reward and incentivize this illegal behavior are the primary culprit in the illegal immigration problem," Riddle said in a statement. "Now they're going to have to think hard about whether or not it's worth the risk to them and their business when they make these hiring decisions."

The bill would exempt from prosecution people who hire undocumented workers to help out at single-family residences.

For complete article, click herePosted by Elizabeth Vargas

GOP: Illegal immigrants taking minorities' jobs

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, criticized the hearing's premise in a statement. Several other Democratic lawmakers echoed that argument, saying Republicans were ignoring their lack of support for job training, affirmative action, college financial aid and other programs more critical to employment of minorities.

"I am concerned by the majority's attempt to manufacture tension between African-Americans and immigrant communities. It seems as though they would like for our communities to think about immigration in terms of 'us versus them,' and I reject that notion," Cleaver said in his statement.

Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, issued a warning at the start of the hearing against any attempts to pit blacks against Latino immigrants, a notion that he said he found "so abhorrent and repulsive."

For complete article, click here

Posted by Elizabeth Vargas